Government

Pole Mountain Recreation Sites and Roads Open for Season

Campgrounds, day-use sites, and roads within the Pole Mountain unit of the Medicine Bow National Forest have all been opened for the season during the last week.

Tie City, Vedauwoo, and Yellow Pine campgrounds are all open for public use, as well as the Vedauwoo Day-Use Area. Campgrounds are first-come, first-serve, and some services, such as water at all three campgrounds, may be temporarily unavailable to begin the season.

Roads on the 55,000-acre section of National Forest between Laramie and Cheyenne had been temporarily closed for the last couple months, but are now fully open.

The U.S. Forest Service would like to stress that even as roads dry and reopen; users must stay on designated routes and may not travel off-road. Help protect public lands so that they may be enjoyed by the entire public.

An additional reminder for recreationists on Pole Mountain is that annual shooting restrictions are in effect. These restrictions prohibit the discharge of firearms from March 31 through Sept. 10.

Recent violations of the shooting restriction are being actively investigated by Forest Service Law Enforcement, including damage to a game camera on Forest Road 700 (Vedauwoo Road).

Anyone with specific information on the game camera damage should contact Law Enforcement Officer Hannah Nadeau at (307) 343-2335.

Off-road violations or shooting violations can be reported to the Laramie Ranger District at (307) 745-2300.

Those traveling through the National Forest should pay attention to signage and refer to the Pole Mountain Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) for details. MVUMs are free and physical copies can be obtained at the Laramie District Office, 2468 Jackson St. in Laramie. Electronic versions of the free map are available online at http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/mbr/mvum/maps.

It is the user’s responsibility to know where they are and what types of restrictions there may be when accessing public lands.

For more information on the Pole Mountain unit, contact the Laramie Ranger District. You can also visit our website at http://fs.usda.gov/mbr, or follow the Medicine Bow National Forest on Twitter, @FS_MBRTB.